Manipulation In The Tempest In Shakespeare's The Tempest

Title In The Tempest by William Shakespeare, there is a contradiction between which character is heroic and which is the competition. Different readings of the text render diverse portrayals of the characters. Prospero arrives upon an unestablished island with a dictating mentality and is willing to do everything in his power to become its ruler. When he comes across an inhabitant of the island, he deems him as an easily manipulated, savage monster and attempts to colonize him. With the assumption that he is always right, Prospero deems anyone unlike himself as being unrighteous and in need of correction. Therefore, he takes it upon himself to administer the island along with its inhabitants. However, Caliban, the native he interacts with,

Caliban explains this encounter saying, “When thou cam’st first thou strok’st me… and teach me how to name the bigger light, and how the less, that burn by day and night. And then I loved thee” (Act 1, Scene 2, Lines 335-337). In this scene, Caliban is recollecting the manipulation Prospero performed by first flattering him and then after winning him over, he deceives him, and lastly enslaves him. Prospero teaches Caliban, and in return tricks Caliban into teaching him. However, the knowledge of survival that Caliban taught him is a lot more powerful than that of language. Prospero knew how to outwit the native by giving him knowledge, making him feel powerful, then stripping it away as if it were nothing and imprisoning him after he got his end of the

By ____, he very accurately portrays the relationship between enslaved and slave holder. Although Miranda and Prospero see the knowledge as power, Caliban only sees it as a reminder of his he is not like them and how they took everything away from him out of selfishness. While Prospero believes he has done Caliban a favor by educating him, Caliban sees it as a dictatorship. Prospero then thinks Caliban to be ungrateful for all the good things he has done to help him, but there was nothing wrong with the way he was living before Prospero’s arrival. Just because Caliban refuses the civilization does not mean he is any less of a HUMAN. He is not ungrateful; he is just different. He realizes the only way out of this battle is to use what they have given him against them, and this is when he decides to go against everything he believes in attempt to overthrow Prospero. He realizes that he has to play dirty because Prospero is playing unfairly.